billion
noun
Did you know?
How much is a billion? It might depend on whom you ask. Billion was borrowed from French in the late 1600s to indicate the number one million raised to the power of two, or a million million—a number represented by a 1 followed by 12 zeros. However, the French later changed their naming conventions so that a billion became a thousand million (a 1 followed by 9 zeros) and a trillion became a thousand thousand million (or a million million, the old billion). The French have since returned to the older system, but it was this new system that was adopted by American English speakers in the 1800s. In Britain, the newer system has seen increasing use since the 1950s, but the older sense is still sometimes used there as well.
Examples of billion in a Sentence
Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Trump’s pressure campaign on U.S. universities has ranged from slashing billions of dollars in research funding to restricting international students.
—Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 July 2025
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the Trump administration Monday for holding back billions of dollars in federal education funding, joining along with AGs from more than 20 other states.
—Cayla Bamberger, New York Daily News, 14 July 2025
Before its recent retirement, Gaia tracked billions of stars to collect data that is allowing scientists to construct a detailed 3D map of our cosmic backyard.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for billion
Cite this Entry
“Billion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/billion. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
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